At 09:01 PM 8/8/2004 -0500 Dan Minette wrote: >> At 08:16 PM 8/8/2004 -0500 Dan Minette wrote: >> >> O.k., given your proposed definition of "Catholic", how do you define >> >> "Protestant"? Are Protestants just simply a sect within the >Catholic >> >> Church? >> > >> >Sure, that's easy. Protestants are those folks who willingly and >> >deliberately maintain a separation from the Catholic church. >> >> And what word would you use to describe those folks who willingly and >> deliberately maintain communion with the Catholic Church? > >Catholics. But, the trick is, whether the Vatican bureaucracy is empowered >by the spirit to decide which decents from their views breaks communion. I >feel I maintain communion.
And that is the heart of my objection. When most people read the term "Catholic" they interpret the term as meaning those folks who willingly and deliberately maintain communion with the Catholic Church. To me, it seems a little disingenuous for someone who has such strong disagreements with the Catholic Church that he became an official in a Protestant Church, and whom I suspect attends Protestant services far more often than he attends Catholic Mass on Sunday to lob a criticism of the Church with the preface "as a Catholic." >> >I do not feel the desire or the need to >> >renounce my Catholic tradition of faith in order to be a member of a >church >> >that is not Catholic. >> >> I can't imagine that any Catholic would ever ask you to do that. I can >> see nothing wrong with you being a Protestant who is heavily influenced >by >> his history as a Catholic, and the current Catholic tradition and faith. >> > >Why can't I be a member of two churches? Didn't Christ say something about serving two Masters? ;-) Seriously, I have no problem with you attending Catholic Mass as often as you want, nor any problem with you attending many of the events at St. Anthony's. JDG _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
